NBA: Cavs ride huge first half to crushing win over Warriors

LOS ANGELES  -- The Cleveland Cavaliers continued their perfect start to the NBA season in sensational style on Friday, seizing a 41-point halftime lead on the way to a 136-117 rout of the Golden State Warriors.

The Cavs improved to 10-0, ending the Warriors' five-game winning streak and handing them their first road defeat of the season.

The damage was done early, the Cavs' 83 first-half points tying a franchise record for most scored in any half and their 41-point halftime lead was the biggest in team history.

Against the Warriors' second-ranked defense, the Cavs posted their fifth game of the young season with at least 130 points.

That ties a team record for the most 130-plus point games for an entire season.

"Ten-0 is a magic number," Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. "We're playing really good basketball and I'm just really pleased with where the group is.

"I was worried about tonight -- they're 7-1 and rolling and they're coming in here, they're champions and they're going to try and knock our block off."

Darius Garland scored 27 points, Evan Mobley added 23 and Ty Jerome chipped in 20 off the bench as six Cavs players scored in double figures against a Warriors defense that came in ranked second in the league.

Meanwhile, they kept the potentially explosive Warriors offense in check, opening the game on a 20-2 scoring run.

"The way we came out tonight -- that surprised me, how ready we were, how hungry we were," Atkinson said.

Andrew Wiggins with nine points and Stephen Curry with seven were the only Warriors starters to score before the break.

Golden State were able to adjust after the break, out-scoring the Cavs 41-29 in the third quarter.

"First half, can't play much better than that," Atkinson said. "But second half, way we came out, they scored 13 points in the first three minutes. It was a little frustrating."

The Warriors, however, were in too deep a hole.

Jonathan Kuminga led Golden State with 21 points off the bench, Curry finished with 12 on five-of-10 shooting, making just one from three-point range.

"We've got to execute better," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. "Thirteen turnovers in the first half -- we were completely disorganized."

- Celtics edge Nets -

In Boston, Jayson Tatum scored 33 points to lead the Celtics in a 108-104 overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who led by as many as 14 in the first half and didn't surrender the lead until the fourth quarter.

In Detroit, Cade Cunningham drove for the go-ahead basket with 8.5 seconds left to play in the Pistons' 122-121 victory over Atlanta, then sealed the victory with a block on a driving Onyeka Okongwu.

Cunningham finished with a triple-double of 22 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists with a steal and the game-saving block.

Jusuf Nurkic's free throw with eight-tenths of a second remaining lifted the Phoenix Suns to a 114-113 victory over the Mavericks in Dallas.

Kevin Durant scored 26 points and Nurkic added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns, who notched a seventh straight victory to improve to 8-1.

"It's been fun," Durant said of the Suns' start. "(It has) definitely been nerve-wracking with the tight games we've been in, but I think that's great for our team to understand what it's like in crunch time."

Luka Doncic scored 30 points and Kyrie Irving added 29 for Dallas, who have now lost twice this season to Phoenix.

Elsewhere Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers got back to winning ways with a 116-106 defeat of the Philadelphia 76ers at home.

The Lakers had lost four of their five previous games but overpowered the Sixers thanks to 31 points from Anthony Davis and 21 from LeBron James with Austin Reaves adding 20.

In New York, Karl-Anthony Towns scored 32 points for the Knicks, who led by as many as 30 in a 116-94 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Milwaukee, who trailed all the way.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Kevin Durant scores 41 as Nets rally past Pistons

Kevin Durant collected 41 points and 11 rebounds as the Brooklyn Nets rallied in the second half and recorded a 130-123 victory over the Detroit Pistons Tuesday night in New York.

The Nets (40-36) won for the eighth time in 11 games after trailing by 12 in the first half. Brooklyn moved one game ahead of the ninth-place Charlotte Hornets in the race for a play-in berth in the Eastern Conference.

Durant scored 16 points in the third quarter and hit the tiebreaking 11-footer that gave the Nets a 110-108 lead with 4:54 remaining and helped Brooklyn outscore Detroit 22-15 to finish the game.

Durant made 14 of 23 shots as the Nets shot 55.3 percent and hit 15 3-pointers in 28 attempts.

Kyrie Irving added 24 in his second home game of the season after the unvaccinated guard was granted an exemption from New York City's private employer mandate last week. He made 7 of 18 shots, including a 19-footer that put Brooklyn up 126-118 with 90 seconds left.

Bruce Brown contributed 15 points and Andre Drummond totaled 14 points and 13 boards for the Nets. Seth Curry and Nic Claxton added 11 apiece for the Nets.

Rookie Cade Cunningham matched his career high with 34 points as the Pistons (20-56) lost for the ninth time in 11 games. Saddiq Bey and Isaiah Stewart added 15 apiece as Detroit shot 48 percent and hit 16 3-pointers while taking its eighth loss by single digits in its skid.

Despite allowing the Nets to shoot 59.1 percent, the Pistons held a 35-33 lead through the opening quarter. The Pistons ripped off a 14-4 run to open a 53-41 lead when Killian Hayes hit a 3-pointer with 7:58 left and held a 64-58 lead at halftime.

The Nets regained the lead when Brown's 3-pointer made it 69-67 with 9:56 left in the third, held an eight-point lead midway through the quarter and took a 96-94 lead into the fourth.

The Pistons took a 101-99 lead on Frank Jackson's layup with 10:01 remaining, Irving hit a tough 3 from the left side for a 104-101 lead with 9:08 left but Cunningham's reverse layup forged a 108-all tie with 5:09 left before the Nets closed it out.

-reuters-

NBA: Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum lead Celtics past pesky Pistons

Jaylen Brown had 27 points and Jayson Tatum contributed 26 points, 11 rebounds and six assists as the Boston Celtics extended their road winning streak to seven games with a 113-104 victory over Detroit on Saturday afternoon.

Payton Pritchard supplied 19 points and six assists off the bench for the Celtics, who have won 11 of their past 12 games. They avenged the lone defeat during that stretch -- Detroit's 112-111 win in Boston on Feb. 16.

Grant Williams added 13 points, four rebounds and three assists and Robert Williams chipped in 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Cory Joseph had 15 points, Marvin Bagley scored 14 and Saddiq Bey added 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Pistons. Detroit made just 7 of 27 3-point attempts.

Detroit's Hamidou Diallo was ejected in the second quarter for touching an official.

Tatum had 17 points. seven rebounds and six assists by halftime but Boston was clinging to a 56-54 lead.

The Celtics never trailed in their past five road games. That streak ended quickly Saturday as Joseph scored the game's first basket and Detroit led 10-4 during the first three-plus minutes. Neither team had more than a six-point advantage prior to the break.

Joseph also scored the first points of the second half, a 3-pointer. Late in the quarter, Cunningham made two consecutive baskets to give Detroit a 74-71 edge.

Bagley had six points in the final 2:14 of the quarter as Detroit carried an 82-78 lead into the fourth.

Grant Williams had a personal 5-0 run to start the final quarter and provide the Celtics with a one-point edge.

A 10-0 spurt gave the Celtics a 95-88 lead. Pritchard had five points and an assist during that stretch. Tatum stretched the advantage to 10 on a 3-pointer with 5:17 remaining.

After the Pistons pulled within six, Tatum made a dunk with 1:13 remaining.

-reuters-

NBA: Bucks dominate early in comfortable win vs. Pistons

Jrue Holiday slammed home a Giannis Antetokounmpo assist 16 seconds into the game to ignite a 14-0 flurry by the host Milwaukee Bucks, who never looked back in a 114-93 wire-to-wire victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

Antetokounmpo finished with a game-high 33 points, Bobby Portis recorded a 28-point, 10-rebound double-double and Holiday pitched in with 22 points for the Bucks, who completed a 5-0 homestand with their 12th consecutive win over the Pistons.

Trey Lyles had a team-high 19 points off the bench for Detroit, which was playing on the second night of a back-to-back and suffered its fourth straight defeat.

Antetokounmpo had a dunk, another interior hoop and three free throws, while Portis added a dunk and a 3-pointer in the game-opening run, which extended into the fourth minute of the game.

The Bucks went on to lead, 26-9, after a Holiday jumper at the 4:41 mark of the period, before the Pistons mounted a challenge.

Detroit rallied within six in the first quarter and got within three in the second, and was down just 71-65 after a Saddiq Bey 3-pointer near the midpoint of the third period before Milwaukee pulled away for good.

Holiday buried consecutive 3-pointers in a 10-2 burst that re-opened a double-digit advantage and led to a bench-heavy fourth quarter.

Antetokounmpo shot 12 for 17 while also finding time for seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Holiday led the Bucks with six assists.

Khris Middleton (11 points) and Pat Connaughton (11) also scored in double figures for the Bucks, who outshot the Pistons 48.3 percent to 35.8 percent overall and 41.7 percent to 24.4 percent on 3-pointers.

Jerami Grant and Bey backed Lyles with 13 points apiece and Saben Lee added 12 for Detroit, which was opening a five-game trip that also sends them to the West Coast.

Cade Cunningham had team highs in rebounds (eight) and assists (seven) to complement nine points for the Pistons.

-reuters-

NBA: Jordan Poole goes for 32 as Warriors win in Detroit

Jordan Poole scored a season-high 32 points and the short-handed Golden State Warriors held off the host Detroit Pistons 105-102 on Friday.

Andrew Wiggins had 27 points and Nemanja Bjelica tossed in 14 off the bench. Gary Payton II added 12 points for the Warriors.

Golden State was missing several key players, including two-time Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry. The league's leading scorer at 29.5 points per game, Curry did not play due to a left hip contusion. 

Draymond Green was inactive due to a right thigh contusion, while Andre Iguodala (right knee soreness) and Otto Porter Jr. (left foot injury management) also sat out.

Reserve Frank Jackson led the Pistons with a season-high 27 points. Jerami Grant and Cade Cunningham had 19 points apiece for Detroit, and Hamidou Diallo added 10 points.

Pistons center Isaiah Stewart suffered a right ankle injury contesting a shot early in the second half and did not return.

Golden State led 17-4 midway through the first quarter as Detroit missed 10 straight shots. Poole finished the quarter with 11 points, but Detroit pulled within 26-23 by period's end.

Poole matched that total in the second quarter as the Warriors carried a 56-51 lead into the second half. Jackson provided the spark for the Pistons with 16 first-half points off the bench.

The Warriors led by six midway through the third quarter, then reeled off seven unanswered points.

Chris Chiozza's 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring gave the Warriors an 81-68 advantage late in the quarter. He drained another one in the closing seconds as Golden State carried an 86-70 lead into the fourth.

Bjelica's layup two minutes into the final period made it 91-77. Poole reached the 30-point mark with a reverse layup with 4:58 left to give Golden State a 101-87 lead. He surpassed his previous season high of 31 points when he made a baseline runner with just over three minutes left.

Detroit pulled within 104-100 on two Cunningham free throws with 1:43 left. Grant's two free throws with 33.3 seconds left cut Golden State's lead to three. However, Grant and Jackson each missed a potential tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

-reuters-

NBA: Kevin Durant, Nets stave off Pistons' late charge

Kevin Durant had 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as the visiting Brooklyn Nets held off a late Detroit rally to down the Pistons 96-90 on Friday.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points and five rebounds and James Harden compiled 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists but also committed nine turnovers. Blake Griffin added 13 points and Bruce Brown chipped in 10 for the Nets, who have won four straight.

Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 17 points. Kelly Olynyk contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Cory Joseph and Saddiq Bey added 12 points each.

Defenses ruled the opening half as it ended tied at 39 apiece.

Durant led the Nets with nine points but shot 3-for-11 from the field. Harden made just one of six shots while scoring seven. Cunningham paced the Pistons with nine points. Brooklyn shot 32.5 percent from the field, while Detroit made 33.3 percent of its attempts.

Brooklyn scored the first eight points of the second half, including five by Brown. After the Pistons closed to within three points, the Nets went on a 13-3 run to stretch their lead to 62-49. Durant and Harden began that spurt with 3-pointers. Harden had another 3 during that span and Griffin finished it off with a dunk.

Griffin's 3-pointer with 2:29 remaining in the quarter gave Brooklyn a 72-57 lead. Durant had 12 points in the quarter as the Nets carried a 78-62 lead into the fourth.

Detroit started the quarter with a 9-2 run, which included two Frank Jackson 3-pointers.

With Brooklyn up 86-75, the Pistons made another run. Cunningham and Joseph made 3-pointers to pull Detroit within two at 88-86 with four minutes remaining.

A Durant floater doubled the Nets' lead but Cunningham answered with a 3-pointer. Durant hit a mid-range jumper to make it 92-89.

Griffin then drew a charge against Bey and made an offensive rebound to set up Durant's clinching layup with 12.9 seconds remaining.

-reuters-

NBA: Julius Randle, Knicks knock off Pistons

Julius Randle regained his All-Star form, finishing with 27 points and 16 rebounds to help the host New York Knicks close out the season's first half with a 114-104 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday night.

Coming off a subpar 14-point performance in a loss to the Spurs on Tuesday, Randle shot 11-for-19 from the field and also had seven assists to help New York persevere despite playing without Derrick Rose for the second consecutive game due to the NBA's health and safety protocols.

Rose returned multiple negative tests for COVD-19 before the game, but the league ruled him ineligible to play against his former team.

All five Knicks starters scored in double figures. RJ Barrett scored 21 points to go along with five assists and four rebounds.

The Pistons spread the points out even more, finishing with eight players in double figures. Wayne Ellington led with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting.

The Knicks welcomed back Elfrid Payton, who missed four games with a right hamstring injury. He finished with 20 points and six rebounds on 7-for-14 shooting. Taj Gibson remained out with a sprained left ankle.

Reggie Bullock and Nerlens Noel each added 12 points for the Knicks, and Noel contributed 11 rebounds.

Rookie Immanuel Quickley, though, who entered averaging just over 12 points per game, played only 13 minutes and was held scoreless.

The Knicks shot 54.2 percent from the field, outrebounded the Pistons, 47-29, and outscored them, 66-38, in the paint.

Saddiq Bey had 14 points for Detroit, while Mason Plumlee finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Rodney McGruder had 13 points off the Pistons bench, and Dennis Smith Jr. added 12 points. Reserves Isaiah Stewart and Sekou Doumbouya each had 10.

Jerami Grant (left quad), Josh Jackson (illness), Frank Jackson (illness), Killian Hayes (right hip strain), Delon Wright (right groin strain), Jahlil Okafor (left knee surgery) and Blake Griffin (not with the team) were out for Detroit.

The Knicks open the second half with a four-game road trip beginning March 11 at Milwaukee. The Pistons also resume on the road with back-to-back games at Charlotte and Brooklyn on March 11 and 13.

-reuters-

NBA: Pistons' Wood tests positive for coronavirus -- reports

Detroit Pistons forward Christian Wood tested positive for coronavirus, multiple outlets reported Saturday night.

Wood becomes the third known NBA player to test positive for the virus. Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz, who played the Pistons last week, are the others.

The Pistons confirmed later Saturday night that a player on their team had tested positive, but they didn't release the identity. The club said the player had been in self-isolation since Wednesday night.

"A preliminary positive result came back on March 14," the club said in a statement. "The health and safety of our players, our organization, those throughout our league, and all those potentially impacted by this situation is paramount.

"We are working closely with team medical staff, state and local government and public health officials and the NBA on reporting. The individual will remain in isolation and under the care of team medical staff."

The Athletic reported that Wood felt "subtle symptoms" on Thursday and decided to get tested as a precaution.

Wood's agent, Adam Pensack, said the following to the Detroit News on Saturday night about Wood: "He feels 100 percent fine."

Wood went up against the Jazz and Gobert on March 7 in Detroit, and the two got mixed up in an incident that resulted in double technical fouls.

Wood had 30 points and 11 rebounds in that game, while Gobert had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Videos from the game show many times where their bodies come together or their sweaty faces are in close proximity.

The 24-year-old Wood was in the midst of a breakout season prior to play being suspended Wednesday night after Gobert's positive test. Mitchell's test came back positive on Thursday.

Wood averaged 13.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 62 games. The UNLV product had a career-best 32 points against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, official Courtney Kirkland's coronavirus test came back negative, ESPN reported on Saturday.

Kirkland was one of the officials assigned to Wednesday's game between the New Orleans Pelicans and host Sacramento Kings that was postponed.

Kirkland had worked the Jazz's game on Monday in Salt Lake City against the Toronto Raptors. After news of Gobert's positive test broke, players on the Pelicans and Kings became aware that Kirkland had officiated the game involving Gobert and expressed their reluctance to play the game to NBA officials.

The game was canceled a short time later.

According to ESPN, Kirkland is now cleared to leave Sacramento and can resume all activities without restriction.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Knicks top Pistons for season-best 4th straight win

Julius Randle and Wayne Ellington had 17 points apiece and the visiting New York Knicks extended their season-best winning streak to four games by slipping past the Detroit Pistons 95-92 on Saturday.

Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis scored 11 points apiece and Elfrid Payton had 10 points, nine rebounds and six assists for New York. The Knicks outrebounded Detroit 47-28, including a 16-3 advantage in offensive rebounds.

Reggie Jackson led the Pistons with 20 points and nine assists. Christian Wood had 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Tony Snell and John Henson contributed 12 points apiece. Henson was making his Detroit debut after being acquired from Cleveland on Thursday.

Henson made all five of his field-goal attempts in the first half as Detroit led 50-48 at halftime.

The Knicks tied it at 58-all just over five minutes into the second half. The Pistons scored the next seven points, capped by a Wood fast-break dunk.

New York knotted the game again at 67 before the quarter with a 6-0 spurt, including a pair of Portis baskets.

A 7-1 Detroit run gave it an 84-77 advantage. Jackson made a layup, Snell converted in the lane and Wood drained a corner 3-pointer off a Snell feed during that span.

New York came right back with nine unanswered points to regain the lead. Randle made a layup, then tossed an alley oop for a Mitchell Robinson dunk. Ellington knocked a 3-pointer and Payton converted a layup to put New York in front 86-84.

The game remained nip and tuck. Payton hit a floater with 1:29 to go for a 91-89 Knicks lead. Jackson missed a layup on Detroit's next possession.

New York missed its next two shots but retained possession with offensive rebounds. Randle then scored in the lane with 13.5 seconds left.

Wood heaved in a 3-pointer before New York's Reggie Bullock knocked down two free throws with 7.3 seconds left. Jackson's 3-point attempt on the Pistons' last possession bounced off the rim.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Davis, James dominate as Lakers win 5th straight

Anthony Davis recorded 24 points, 11 rebounds and a season-best eight blocked shots to help the Los Angeles Lakers register a 106-99 victory over the visiting Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.

LeBron James added 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his ninth triple-double of the season as the Lakers won their fifth consecutive game. Los Angeles blocked 20 shots, one shy of the franchise mark set against the Denver Nuggets on April 9, 1982.

Alex Caruso scored 13 points, Dwight Howard added 11 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 10 for the Lakers. 

JaVale McGee swatted away six shots for Los Angeles, which shot 45.7 percent from the field and was 6 of 20 from 3-point range.

Derrick Rose scored 28 points and reserve Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk added 14 points for the Pistons, who lost for the ninth time in the past 11 games. 

Langston Galloway tallied 13 points, Andre Drummond had 12 points, 18 rebounds and four blocked shots, while Sekou Doumbouya and Christian Wood added 11 points apiece.

Detroit shot 37.2 percent from the field and hit 11 of 26 from behind the arc.

Lakers guard Avery Bradley (ankle) departed in the second quarter and didn't return. X-rays were negative but he is expected to miss some time.

Rose's 3-pointer pulled Detroit within 98-97 with 1:52 left. Davis then hit a corner 3-pointer and scored on a layup with 32.5 seconds left -- Drummond was called for goaltending on the latter shot -- as Los Angeles took a six-point lead en route to closing it out.

Detroit trailed by nine at halftime and finally led for the first time all night when Mykhailiuk buried a 3-pointer to make it 76-74 with 1:22 left in the third quarter. Galloway followed with a trey to make it a five-point margin with 59.3 seconds remaining.

Los Angeles scored the final point of the third quarter to trail 79-75 and erupted for the first 15 of the fourth period. Rajon Rondo's layup tied the score and Caruso tallied five points in 27 seconds to give the Lakers an 88-79 advantage with 8:34 to play.

Kuzma capped the burst with a layup with 7:42 left. The Pistons responded with nine straight points, and Mykhailiuk's 3-pointer cut Los Angeles' lead to 90-88 with 5:52 left.

Detroit went ahead 92-91 after two free throws by Rose with 4:51 left before the Lakers scored 15 of the game's final 22 points.

Los Angeles led 56-47 at the break with Davis already having six of his blocks.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Pistons crush Wizards by 30, end 5-game skid

Christian Wood scored 22 points off the bench, Tim Frazier had 17 points and six assists, and the host Detroit Pistons snapped a five-game losing streak by blasting the Washington Wizards 132-102 on Thursday.

Derrick Rose contributed 15 points and six assists, Blake Griffin had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Andre Drummond supplied 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons.

Bruce Brown and Svi Mykhailiuk added 12 points apiece, and Tony Snell chipped in 10.

The Pistons shot 53.5 percent from the field.

Anzejs Pasecniks topped the Wizards with 17 points while Bradley Beal and Jordan McRae had 15 points apiece. Troy Brown Jr. contributed 13 points, and Gary Payton II, signed less than a week ago, added 10 points.

The Wizards were held to 41.3 percent shooting.

Washington won at Detroit 133-119 on Dec. 16, but the Pistons dominated this game virtually from the start.

The Pistons learned earlier in the day that starting swingman Luke Kennard would miss at least the next two weeks due to knee tendinitis.

The Wizards have been ravaged by injuries, and guard Isaiah Thomas was serving the second game of a two-game, NBA-issued suspension for confronting a fan in the stands.

The Pistons opened up a 20-point lead by halftime, 68-48.

Drummond led the way with 12 first-half points, including a tip-in right before the second-quarter buzzer. Bruce Brown scored 10 points and Griffin added eight before halftime.

The Pistons shot 55.6 percent and made just three turnovers in the first half. Washington also committed only three turnovers but shot 38 percent.

Detroit extended its lead to 26 early in the third when Mykhailiuk hit a 3-pointer, Griffin blocked an Admiral Schofield shot and Frazier followed with another long ball.

Frazier's 3-pointer midway through the quarter upped Detroit's advantage to 89-60. Griffin nudged the lead to 30 on a layup with 5:13 left in the quarter.

The Pistons carried a 106-76 lead into the fourth quarter.

Detroit now heads out on a six-game road trip, its longest of the season, beginning with a Saturday game at San Antonio. Washington plays its next six games at home, starting Saturday against the New York Knicks.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Celtics cruise past Pistons

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum scored 26 points apiece to lead the Boston Celtics to a 114-93 rout of the visiting Detroit Pistons on Friday night.

Rookie Grant Williams chipped in a season-high 18 points off the bench, and Enes Kanter had 18 rebounds as the Celtics won their second straight. Kemba Walker was held to two points on 0-for-6 shooting but had 11 assists.

Andre Drummond had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Thon Maker scored 15 points for the Pistons, who have lost four of five.

Detroit committed 25 turnovers in the contest and shot 40 percent (34 of 85). Boston had 20 turnovers but shot 52.3 percent (45 of 86).

The Celtics were up by 12 at the half and maintained their double-digit advantage throughout the third quarter, increasing their lead to 23, 87-64, on a Brad Wanamaker floater to complete a 14-1 spurt with 2:03 to go.

Boston carried a 91-69 lead into the fourth and would go up by as many as 27. Tatum and Brown sat out the entire quarter; to the delight of the crowd, 7-foot-5 rookie Tacko Fall made his home debut with 4:31 remaining.

The Celtics used an 11-0 run to grab their first double-digit lead, 41-31, with 8:14 remaining in the second quarter. 

The Pistons got as close as six, but Boston responded with Brown hitting a pair of 3-pointers around a steal in an 11-second span for a 56-42 edge.

Brown was at it again with 1.1 seconds left, completing a four-point play to give the Celtics a 60-48 lead at the break.

Brown had 19 points, and Tatum 15. Markieff Morris paced Detroit with 10.

Tatum had 13 points after one as Boston led 28-26.

Both teams played short-handed, the Celtics without Gordon Hayward (foot) and Marcus Smart (eye), and the Pistons down Blake Griffin, Luke Kennard and Christian Wood - all with knee injuries.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Beal leads Wizards past Pistons to end skid

Bradley Beal poured in 35 points and dished out 10 assists and the Washington Wizards snapped a four-game losing streak by pulling away from the host Detroit Pistons, 133-119, on Monday.

Isaiah Thomas, who missed the previous five games with a calf strain, supplied 23 points. Davis Bertans contributed 17 points off the bench while Ish Smith had 10 points and seven assists. Troy Brown Jr. added 10 points and six rebounds for Washington.

Markieff Morris had 22 points and five rebounds for the Pistons. Derrick Rose contributed 22 points, six rebounds and eight assists, while Bruce Brown had 20 points. Luke Kennard added 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Detroit's frontcourt stars missed the game. Andre Drummond, the league's leading rebounder, sat out for the second straight game due to left eye inflammation related to an allergic reaction. Blake Griffin was sidelined by left knee soreness. He has appeared in only 14 of the team's 27 games.

Washington's rookie forward Rui Hachimura sat out the second half with a groin contusion.

The Wizards entered the game ranked last in the league in points allowed and opponents' field-goal percentage. Washington won the first meeting between the teams, 115-99, on November 4.

Detroit had gone 6-3 at home against the Wizards since the 2014-15 season.

Beal scored 21 first-half points as Washington led, 67-61, at halftime.

The Wizards attacked the Pistons' depleted frontcourt from the start, piling up 10 layups or dunks in the first quarter alone while scoring 43 points in the quarter. That total was the most Detroit has allowed in any quarter this season.

The Wizards led by as much as 16 in the second quarter but the Pistons chipped away as four of their players had at least nine first-half points, led by Morris' 13.

Washington increased the lead to 10, 89-79, with 3:33 left in the third quarter on Admiral Schofield's 3-pointer.

Schofield was whistled for a Flagrant Foul 1 later in the quarter when he tried to block a Christian Wood dunk attempt. Rose scored seven points late the quarter to cut Washington's advantage to 96-91 entering the fourth.

Rose's layup with 8:18 remaining made it 102-99. Beal hit two free throws with 5:20 remaining to increased Washington's lead to six, 114-108.

Beal hit a jumper with less than four minutes to go to make it 119-111. He dunked with 3:16 left for a 121-113 Wizards lead. Bertans converted a four-point play moments later, extending Washington's lead to 12 points.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Westbrook seals triple-double average as Thunder top Pistons

Paul George scored 30 points and Russell Westbrook sealed his third consecutive season averaging a triple-double as the host Oklahoma City Thunder posted a 123-110 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday.

The game was critical to both teams' playoff positioning, and it was the Thunder who came out ahead, winning for the second consecutive game and the fourth time in seven games.

The Thunder (46-33) remain in seventh place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs, who also won Friday.

The Pistons (39-40) lost for the third consecutive game and for the sixth time in their past eight. Detroit fell into a tie for seventh in the Eastern Conference with the Brooklyn Nets, just a game ahead of the ninth-place Miami Heat.

George was 4 of 7 from behind the 3-point arc.

Westbrook finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and 15 assists a game after recording the second-ever 20-20-20 game in league history. Jerami Grant also scored 19 for Oklahoma City.

The Thunder won despite a monster game from Blake Griffin, who had missed the previous three contests due to knee soreness.

Griffin finished with 45 points, making a career-high nine 3-pointers in his home state. He was 9 of 14 from behind the 3-point arc.

Griffin scored 31 of his points in the first half.

It took just four Thunder possessions for Westbrook to pick up three assists and seal his triple-double season average. Westbrook is the only player to accomplish the feat in back-to-back seasons.

Westbrook will also finish as the league's leader in assists for the third consecutive season.

In the second quarter, Westbrook was called for a flagrant foul on Zaza Pachulia after the Detroit center received a pass under the basket.

Westbrook swatted hard and connected with Pachulia's head as the latter went up for a shot. Pachulia remained on the ground for several moments.

It was not the first run-in between the two.

Last season when Pachulia was a member of the Golden State Warriors, Westbrook accused Pachulia of deliberately trying to hurt him after Pachulia fell on top of Westbrook.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: 6 Celtics score in double figures in beating Pistons

Jayson Tatum led six Boston players in double figures with 19 points and the host Celtics ended the Detroit Pistons' four-game winning streak with a 118-110 victory on Wednesday.

Gordon Hayward contributed 18 points and eight assists, while Al Horford supplied 17 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists. Jaylen Brown had 17 points and seven rebounds, Marcus Smart added 16 points and five assists, and Marcus Morris chipped in 11 points.

The Celtics were missing their top two point guards. All-Star Kyrie Irving sat out for the second consecutive night with a right knee strain, while Terry Rozier was sidelined by an illness.

Blake Griffin led Detroit with 32 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Andre Drummond had 21 points, 17 rebounds and four steals, Reggie Jackson tossed in 18 points, and Wayne Ellington added 13 points off the bench.

Both teams were playing their final game before the All-Star break. Boston was playing the tail end of a back-to-back after winning in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Hayward scored 11 first-half points as Boston led 57-52 at halftime. Brown contributed 10 points off the bench, while Griffin reached the 20-point mark.

The Celtics took control in the third, outscoring Detroit 34-20 to gain a 91-72 lead.

Boston opened up an 11-point lead early in the third with an 8-0 spurt that included 3-pointers from Hayward and Smart.

When Tatum made a trey from the right side with 6:47 left in the quarter, Boston's lead was 72-58.

Later in the quarter, Smart drained back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Celtics' advantage to 17 at 85-68.

Tatum fired in another long shot in the final minute of the quarter to make it 89-69. Smart made the last basket of the quarter, scoring along the right baseline while falling down.

The Pistons didn't go quietly. They reeled off a 20-2 run, capped by a Drummond steal and dunk, to cut Boston's lead to 10. Horford made a three to end that outburst. Detroit couldn't get the deficit into single digits until the final two minutes.

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Thunder end Pistons' win streak

Steven Adams had 21 points and six rebounds in 27 minutes, and the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder snapped the Detroit Pistons' five-game winning streak with a 110-83 thumping on Monday.

Russell Westbrook contributed 18 points, six rebounds and six assists for the Thunder, who have gone 15-3 since an 0-4 start. Paul George supplied 17 points and 10 rebounds, Jerami Grant had 15 points, and Dennis Schroder racked up 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Nerlens Noel added 12 points and eight rebounds for Oklahoma City, which shot 50.6 percent from the field.

Detroit's Blake Griffin had 20 points, five rebounds and four assists but went 7-for-18 from the field. Andre Drummond had 13 points and six rebounds, and Jon Leuer chipped in 12 points off the bench. The Pistons were held to 33 percent shooting.

Detroit shooting guard Reggie Bullock sustained a left ankle sprain in the early going and did not return.

The Thunder outscored the Pistons 37-19 during the third quarter to turn the game into a rout. Oklahoma City reeled off 10 unanswered points midway through the period to gain a 19-point lead.

Adams started it off with a hook shot. Westbrook followed with a pullup jumper and a three-point play. George completed the outburst with a 3-pointer to make it 68-49.

The Thunder had another 10-0 spurt later in the quarter as their lead to grew to 29. Westbrook got it going with a layup. George then had an assist and a dunk. 

Westbrook added a free throw and an assist before the Pistons finally answered. Oklahoma City's lead was 87-59 after three quarters.

The Thunder led 50-40 at halftime as they held Detroit to a season low in first-half points.

Oklahoma City forced the Pistons to take tough, contested shots, and Detroit made just 17 of 49 field-goal attempts (34.7 percent) before the break. Griffin scored 15 first-half points while Adams led the thunder with 14. 

Westbrook had five turnovers but the Thunder still shot 51.2 percent before halftime.

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NBA: Griffin, Pistons stay hot at home, drop Knicks

Blake Griffin scored 30 points and the Detroit Pistons continued their success at home over the New York Knicks with a 115-108 victory on Tuesday night.

Griffin produced his sixth 30-point game of the season as Detroit shot 47.5 percent, controlled the paint by a 56-38 margin and posted its fourth straight home win.

Reserve Stanley Johnson and starter Reggie Jackson contributed 21 points apiece as the Pistons also won for the seventh time in their last nine games overall.

Rookie Allonzo Trier led the Knicks with 24 points and 10 rebounds off the bench but New York saw a three-game winning streak end and was unable to pull off a second straight road comeback after beating Memphis on Sunday.

Tim Hardaway Jr. added 19, Damyean Dotson finished with 17 while Enes Kanter contributed 16 and 14 rebounds as the Knicks shot 39.6 percent and missed 18 of 27 3-point attempts.

The Pistons began taking control late in the first quarter by closing out the period with a 10-2 run. The Knicks were down five early in the second but the Pistons took their first double-digit lead on a Jackson layup with about seven minutes left and opened a 46-30 lead on Jackson's 3-pointer two minutes later.

By halftime, New York was within 51-43 after Hardaway beat the buzzer with a fadeaway jumper. The Knicks were within 74-68 on a layup by Kanter with 95 seconds left in the third but Detroit held an 81-70 lead into the fourth.

Detroit took a 91-74 lead on a layup by Ish Smith with about nine minutes remaining but the Knicks continued to hang around as Griffin returned.

Upon returning, Griffin executed a nifty up-and-under move on Noah Vonleh for a layup and a 100-88 lead with 6:03 remaining. Then he made the feed to Jackson, who lobbed an alley-oop for a Drummond dunk to make it 104-88 with 4:47 left.

New York mounted one last comeback attempt, getting within 110-103 on a 3-pointer by Dotson with 57 seconds left. After Griffin missed a layup, Johnson chased down Trier, blocked the layup attempt with 32 seconds left and Detroit iced the game with five free throws.

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Drummond powers Pistons past Cavs

Andre Drummond had 23 points,16 rebounds and three blocks to boost the Detroit Pistons past the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 113-102 on Monday night.

Blake Griffin had 21 points, 12 rebounds and five assists and Reggie Bullock contributed 21 points and four assists for the Pistons, who led by as much as 30. Reggie Jackson added 13 points and Ish Smith tossed in 11 off the bench.

Both teams were coming off long layoffs. Neither had played since Wednesday and the time off refreshed Detroit, which led by 20 at halftime.

The Cavaliers had six players in double figures, led by rookie Collin Sexton's 18 points and four assists. Jordan Clarkson had 16 points, four rebounds and four assists. Ante Zizic and Rodney Hood chipped in 12 points apiece.

The Pistons had three players in double figures by halftime as they rolled to 66-46 lead. Drummond led the way with 13 points, while Griffin had 12 and Bullock tossed in 10.

Detroit had a 24-10 run in the first quarter while establishing a 38-27 lead.

Cleveland went scoreless for the first five minutes of the second quarter as the Pistons increased their lead to 49-27. Reserve forward Stanley Johnson had seven points and an assist during that stretch.

A Sexton 3-pointer pulled the Cavs within 14 points at 56-42, but that's as close as Cleveland came for the remainder of the half. Bullock hit a three in the final second to push the lead to 20.

Glenn Robinson III and Jackson made 3-pointers to start the second half and extend the Detroit advantage to 72-46.

Bullock's 3-pointer with 5:44 remaining in the quarter maintained the 26-point advantage at 87-61. Less than two minutes later, Griffin made two free throws to stretch Detroit's advantage to 30.

Detroit started to lose focus later in the quarter and the Cavs climbed back with an 18-2 run. Clarkson converted a four-point play with 8:09 remaining to cut their deficit to 14, 95-81. Cleveland never got closer than 11.

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Bullock's buzzer-beater pulls Pistons past Raptors

Reggie Bullock hit a 5-foot fadeaway jumper at the buzzer with an assist from former Raptor Jose Calderon, giving the Detroit Pistons a 106-104 victory at Toronto on Wednesday.

Blake Griffin scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help Detroit come back from a 19-point, third-quarter deficit.

The win made it a happy return to Toronto for Pistons coach Dwane Casey, who was fired in the offseason after seven seasons as the Raptors' coach. Casey received a warm ovation and a video tribute to mark his return.

EMBED -- https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1062904590805426176

Langston Galloway and Reggie Jackson each had 13 points for the Pistons, who gave Toronto its second consecutive loss, both at home.

Stanley Johnson added 12 points for Detroit, and Andre Drummond had 11 points and 14 rebounds.

Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Toronto. Greg Monroe, playing for Serge Ibaka (sore right knee), add 17 points and nine rebounds, Pascal Siakam also had 17 points, and Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Lowry scored 14 points apiece.

The Raptors took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter, but the Pistons cut the deficit to four on Jackson's pullup jumper with 7:57 to play.

Johnson hit a two 3-pointers and Jackson made a jumper and a layup to put Detroit ahead 100-97 with 4:29 left.

Toronto's OG Anunoby missed two free throws, but Leonard cut Detroit's lead to one on a driving layup.

Leonard missed his first free throw with 3:00 to play on a clear-path foul but made his second to tie the game at 100.

Toronto was called for traveling, and Drummond's put-back layup put Detroit back into the lead. Griffin hit a jumper to make the lead four points with two minutes left.

Lowry put in layup and Leonard made a jumper for Toronto to tie the game at 104 with 38.8 seconds left.

Toronto regained possession with 10 seconds to play, but Leonard lost the ball with two seconds on the clock. After one Toronto block, Bullock put in a layup to give Detroit the win.

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NBA: Pistons ride big first half past Hawks

Andre Drummond had 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way as the Detroit Pistons jumped to a 24-point lead late in the first quarter and coasted to a 124-109 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

The Pistons made a season-high 20 of 47 attempts from behind the 3-point arc and rolled to their second straight win after a five-game losing streak, despite just six points from Blake Griffin, their leading scorer at 27.3 per game coming in.

Griffin missed eight of his 10 shots, but had nine rebounds and nine assists as Detroit placed seven players in double figures.

Stanley Johnson had 22 points for the Pistons and Langston Galloway scored 16 while combining to hit nine 3-pointers off the bench. 

Rookie Trae Young scored 16 points and had five assists for the Hawks, who lost for the eighth time in their past nine games.

The Pistons hit 11 of their first 15 shots in taking a 26-8 lead six minutes into the game and turned a 40-20 lead at the end of the first quarter into a 74-51 advantage at halftime.

Detroit was 11 of 23 on 3-point attempts in the first half and took a commanding lead despite just one point from Griffin. He missed his only two first-half shots, but had seven assists and six rebounds at intermission.

The Pistons, who led 103-77 after three quarters, got 13 points from Reggie Bullock, 10 coming in the first half, and 12 from Glenn Robinson III.

Taurean Prince returned to the Atlanta lineup after missing two games with a sprained ankle, but had just six points.

Jeremy Lin scored 19 points off the bench for the Hawks, and rookie Omari Spellman had 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Pistons, who won on the road for the first time Wednesday in Orlando, are home Sunday against Charlotte. The Hawks begin a four-game road trip Sunday at the Los Angeles Lakers.

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